Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication” Lyrics Meaning
“Californication” is a song which is similar to The Eagles’ “Hotel California” not only in name but also in sentiment. However, it can be said that “Californication” deals more directly with Hollywood as it, unlike The Eagles’ track, mentions the city by name.
Or put differently, not only is this piece more squarely set in the literal Tinseltown, but it’s also a bit easier to determine what’s being put forth than in the even more-symbolic “Hotel California”. And yes, there is in fact a whole lot being said, more than can really be covered in this blog post. But in the name of capturing the main points, we will take a linear approach to this analysis.
The Chinese Spies
Now the thing about “Californication”, first of all, is there whereas the references may be more specific, still there is a lot of open interpretation, and one may even say research necessary to pin down what’s being said. For instance, in the very first line we have references to “psychic spies from China”.
Of course we all know what China is, but then it becomes like what “psychic spies” is he talking about? And why does the vocalist further go on to say that they are out to “steal your mind’s elation”?
“Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind’s elation
And little girls from Sweden dream of silver screen quotation
And if you want these kind of dreams it’s Californication”
Every line in this song is more or less of a similar, shall we say esoteric fashioning. And that is why the crowdsourcing of information in this day and age has become such a useful tool in song analysis, as it allows us to expeditiously make sense out of complex pieces such as these.
So for instance, some analysts have shown that that particular line was inspired by a random mentally-disturbed woman Anthony Kiedis happened to cross paths with in New Zealand. So it doesn’t appear that there is any type of deep meaning behind it.
And also even after being presented for an analysis to the entire ‘net, some lines of “Californication” do not make a lot of comprehensive sense. Therefore even though we are taking a linear approach to this analysis, we will not be doing so line-for-line basis but rather, as implied earlier, to ascertain the main and more-discernible points of what’s being put forth.
So that said, the conclusion of the first verse leading throughout the second does a better job of alluding to the subject at hand, which for the simplicity we will refer to as the Hollywood dream, not the “dream of Californication” as put forth by the Chili Peppers.
The Hollywood Dream
We all know, especially in the 21st century, that a person can blow up without literally going to Hollywood, Los Angeles or California. But in the name of becoming a movie star, which once again for the sake of simplicity we will say is the highest level of celebrity out there, at one time or another you’re going to have to pass through Hollywood, even to this day.
So the vocalist is not speaking of professional success or living out the American Dream in general but rather the Hollywood dream. He is talking about being seduced by stardom, so to speak.
These are the “kinds of dreams” the “girls from Sweden” – who we can say are a personification of all naïve women who venture out west for that cause – are depicted as having. And if there’s any doubt as to how the vocalist feels about the moral implications of that decision, again the title of this song is a combination of the words California and fornication.
Kiedis then, most simply put, proceeds to diss celebrities who get plastic surgery. Well it’s not really famous people he’s getting at per se but rather the whole notion of always feeling the need to appear and youthful being as being part and parcel of the California dream.
“Pay your surgeon very well to break the spell of aging
Sicker than the rest, there is no test, but this is what you’re craving?”
Of course no one stays young, or shall we say photogenic their entire lives. But when you feen to do so, that’s when you can end up making matters even worse via plastic surgery. And we all know of celebrities or whoever who have done something terrible to themselves cosmetically in the search for the artificial fountain of youth.
The Sacrifices
Meanwhile, the pre-chorus reads more as if it is related to the end of the first verse, where Anthony once again alludes to the sexual sacrifices girls have to make in pursuit of the California dream. Of course the overwhelming majority of those, whether female or male, who migrate out west in search of celebrity never realize that goal.
Unfortunately for many of the women in particular, they may find themselves mixed up in the po-n industry in the name of taking an alternative route to success or even keeping food on the table. But as implied by the vocalist in the chorus, that’s where the “dream of Californication” can take you.
And so it is with the third verse which once again speaks to the seduction of girls. And this time around the threat isn’t presented as falling into the seedy side of the acting profession but rather being used by a playa and subsequently ended up with an unwanted pregnancy.
A Conspiracy Theory?
Meanwhile the first line of the fourth verse is one of the deepest in the song. It has been suggested that in this verse, the Chili Peppers are hinting what may generally be referred to in conspiracy theory circles as the moon landing hoax. Or to be more specific, there seems to be many people out there who believe that the initial 1969 moon landing was in truth filmed in a Hollywood studio.
But concerning this selfsame line, on the surface it can be argued that the vocalist is talking about how even depictions of space, such as in Star Trek since he uses the phrase “the final frontier”, are in fact fabricated, as in not being real. The reason such a comparison is important is because it also can be deemed as an artistic reference to the Hollywood dream itself not being real. And this understanding is indeed buttressed by the last line in the verse also.
The Ordinary are Socialized by the Elite
In the second bridge, the singer asserts that we’ve all been “born and raised by those who praise control of population”. Well “born and raised” is another way of saying socialized. And it is in fact that powers that be, or let’s say prominent individuals who tend to “praise control of population” or, more simply put, advocate population control.
So putting all of that together, what Kiedis is expressing is that we’ve all been socialized by the elite. And even though he doesn’t make any direct connection between that assertion and the rest of the song, the logical association would be that it is such socialization which, at least in part, contributes to the development of the “dream of Californication”.
“Californication” is here to Stay
Now the fifth verse may be the all-around deepest, and as such limbs must be traversed in the name of interpreting what’s being said. But it kinda goes back to earlier in this article, when we noted how a person, in actuality, can blow up anywhere. In other words, that seems to be what Anthony is implying, that creativity and genius can be developed or encouraged even under arduous circumstances.
But alas, the prevalence of the California dream is a manifestation of innate human desires, i.e. the lust for celebrity, if you will. And that’s why at the end of the day, the vocalist is able to recognize that “Californication”, as he calls it, will never go away.
But that’s rock music from you. Sometimes we get these scathing pieces via musical acts which, as with the Red Hot Chili Peppers for instance, can prove to be amongst their signature tunes, i.e. the songs go on to make them rich and famous. But sometimes, the best advice is offered by those who have been in the game.
For instance, it is clear that there’s a lyrical emphasis on young women meeting a fate in Hollywood that they either didn’t expect or respect. And ultimately, even though Hollywood and by extension California is in the crosshairs of the vocalist, by the time all is said and done it can be said, as hinted earlier, that he is warning against being consumed by the lust for stardom in general.
“Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication”
When was “Californication” released?
In 1999, the rock band, Red Hot Chili Peppers had “Californication” released as a single from their album of the same name, “Californication”.
Song’s Achievements
The song is considered to be one of the band’s biggest hits. It’s a song they have performed on almost every show since its release.
“Californication” had an enormous global acceptance. In the US, it went as high as No.69 on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at No.16 in the UK as it topped the charts in Canada and Ireland. It enjoyed a top-10 status in the following European countries:
- Belgium (6)
- Netherlands (9)
- New Zealand (8)
- Scotland (10)
Who wrote “Californication”?
“Californication” was composed by the following members of Red Hot Chili Peppers:
- John Frusciante
- Flea
- Chad Smith
- Anthony Kiedis
It was produced by Grammy Award winning record producer, Rick Rubin.
Covers
Over the years, music lovers have been treated to dozens of remakes of the song. The following are a handful of some notable ones:
- Rockabye Baby! (2012)
- Syn Cole ft. Caroline Pennell (2016)
- Vitamin String Quartet (2004)
- MattRach (2014)
- Marianna Leporace (2005)
- Barbara Mendes (2012)
The “Californication” Album
“Californication” was released on June 8 of 1999 as the band’s seventh studio album.
Rick Rubin has been credited with its production. Rick is a co-founder of record label, Def Jam Recordings. He has been at the helm of affairs of Columbia Records as a co-president before.
The album came out through the American record label, Warner Bros.
Its promotional activities were spearheaded by the following singles:
- “Scar Tissue”
- “Around the World”
- “Otherside”
- “Californication”
- “Road Trippin’”
- “Parallel Universe”.
In 2000, the album’s debut single, “Scar Tissue” won a Grammy award for “Best Rock Song”.
On Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of “500 Greatest Albums of All Time”, “Californication” was placed at number 399. It later moved to number 286 when that list was re-compiled and released in 2020.
The album peaked at No.3 in the US, No.5 in the UK and spent some time atop the charts in Australia, Finland, Italy, Norway and Sweden. It was also a top-10 album in the following countries:
- Netherland (2)
- Germany (2)
- France (2)
- Denmark (8)
- Canada (2)
- Belgium (6)
- Austria (2)
